Tire



G. AUSTRIA May 12, 1942.

Patented May 12, 1942 UNITED STATES .QFFICE y ,Trang Y Guillermo-Austria, Los Angeles, Calif. 13, lss'afserriai N0. 294,703 a ciaims. (c1. 15g-'34er Application September This invention relates to a Vpneumatic tire and more particularly pertains to that typeof pneu-V matic tire embodying a pair of internal air chambers arranged side by side and extending circumferentially of the tire with the chambers separated by an expansible partition which is,

adapted to serve as a-puncture seal on deflation of either of the air chambers While the other of the chambers is inflated under sufficient pressure to cause the partition to conform to thefcontours of that inner portion of the tire occurring on eX- haustingr air from one of the chambers.

While various constructions have heretofore been proposed for tires of this character very little has been accomplished in the production of a practical and economical tire of this sort. One of the diiculties encountered in constructing a tire of this type is to provide an arrangement whereby the separate air chambers may be readily iniiated through the usual pneumatic valve arrangement, while 'another difficulty has been to provide a double inner tube construction which will permit one of the tubes to expand in Ver. lying relation to the other without the formation of sharp bends in the inner tubes that are liable to cause pinching with possible breaking or rupturing of bent portions of the tube.

An object of the invention is to provide a construction in a double inner tube pneumatic tire whereby the diiculties above recited are overcome and in which an ordinary pneumatic tire carcass may be readily equipped with a pair of inner tubes that are so formed and arranged as to produce the desired double air chamber construction.

With the foregoing objects in View, together with such other objects and advantages as may subsequently appear, the invention is carried into eect as illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in cross section illustrating the invention as applied and showing the tire chambers as correspondingly inflated;

Fig. 2 is a View in section of the structure shown in Fig. l with one of the chambers deated and the partition of the other expanded.

Referring to the drawing more specifically II] indicates generally a conventional pneumatic tire carcass and II designates a conventional Wheel rim having side flanges I2 adapted to receive and engage the inner marginal portions I3 cf the side walls I4of the carcass I0.

The carcass I0 embodies the usual tread portion I5 uniting the side walls I4 and the wheel rim II embodies the usual intermediate circumferentially eritending channel portion It embodying an inner wallV I? and outwardly diverging side walls I8 Iwhich latter connect with laterally extending wails i@ leading to the side flanges I2'.

. linv` carrying out the invention a pair of separatea-hd independent continuous-inner tubes 35 and 3 5 Aare, provided and which are adapted to be disposed interiorly of the carcass I0 and to be inflated therein through the medium of a conventional 'tire valve 23 with which each of the tubes 35 andr itis-equipped. The inner tubes 35 andtiare formed of elastic material such as rubber or rubber composition as is common in inner tube construction, and are designed to be positioned side by side interiorly of the carcass IE) sc that when inflated they Will abut each other with the contiguous walls of the tubes forming a partition 24 separating the pair of air chambers I and i2 afforded by the tubes 35 and 36. i

Mounted in the channel portion IS of the wheel rim II is a resilient band 21 against which the inner peripheral portions of the, inner tubes 35 and 3S abut and through which band is passed the inner portion 28 of the valve stem 23V whichV stem has an outer end portion protrudingv through the inner wall portion Il of the wheel rim as particularly shown in Fig. 1.

The pair of inner tubes 35 and 36 are so formed that their abutting wall portions 3l and 3S will extend with their contiguous faces lead'- ing from the outer periphery of the band I'I to the inner periphery of the tread portion I5 of the carcass I0, and the marginal inner and outer portions of the walls 31 and 38 are formed on their inner sides with thickened portions 39 and 4B respectively that merge into the inner and outer peripheral portions of thetube; the thickened wall portions 39 land 4i) forming the requi-` at their outer ends into the curved inner faces of the outside walls of the tubes and merging at their inner ends into straight inner faces of the partition wall portions 3l and 38. arcuate inner faces of the thickenedportions 39 and 4D is formed on a curve the radius of 'which Each of the.

has a length exceeding the thickness of the side and partition Walls of the tube.

In the application and operation of the invention the inner band Il is initially put in place in the intermediate channel I8 of the wheel rim whereupon the carcass l with the pair of inner sume the position shown in Fig. 1, that is, with the inner peripheral portions of the inner tubes abutting the liner band 21 and with the contiguous walls of the inner tube extending substantially on a plane from the band 21 tothe tread portion of the tire carcass.

In event of deflation of one of the inner tubes as might be occasioned by a puncture or a blowout, the other tube will be distended by the eX- pansion of air under pressure therein so as to cause the inner side Wall portion thereof overlying the inner side wall portion of the continguous tube to crowd the latter to a collapsed position, as indicated for example in Fig. 2, in the fashion well known in tires of this type. However, by the provision of the thickened wall portions at the inner and outer margins of the separated walls of the inner tubes the collapsed tube will be disposed with the side wall portions thereof overlying each other with the return bends at lthe inner and outer marginal portions of the collapsed tube rounded and reinforced by the thickness afforded by the fillets 39-40 and whereby the wall of the inflated inner tube is caused to overlie the bends in the collapsed inner tube in a manner to obviate pinching and possible rupture ofA either of the tubes as otherwise might occur, and whereby the partly deflated tire may be utilized with little or no danger of its being pinched by reason of the presence of the deflated inner tube contiguous thereto.

" I claim:

1. In a pneumatic tire, a tire carcass, a pair of inflatable inner tubes arranged side by side in said carcass adapted when correspondingly in'- ated to form a double wall partition therebetween, each of said tubes being formed with an increased wall thickness at the inner and outer peripheral portion of the partition walls thereof, said increased wall thickness having an arcuate inner face formed on a curve the radius of which has a length exceeding the thickness 0f the partition wall of the tube.

2. In a pneumatic tire, a tire carcass, a pair of inflatable inner tubes arranged side by side in said carcass adapted when correspondingly inflated to form a double wall partition therebetween, a reinforcing wall at the juncture of the inner peripheral portions of said tubes and a reinforcing wall at the juncture of the outer peripheral portions of said tubes; said reinforcing walls being formed integral with and forming portions of said tubes, each of said reinforcing walls having an arcuate inner face formed on a curve the radius of which has a length exceeding the thickness of the partition wall.

Y GUILLERMO AUSTRIA. 

